The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.

Loading ...

Loading ...

This story appears in the {{article.article.magazine.pretty_date}} issue of {{article.article.magazine.pubName}}. Subscribe

UPDATE AND APOLOGY: I HAVE LEARNED FROM THE COMMENTER BELOW THAT THE BLOGS ON WHICH I RELIED FOR THIS STORY HAD NO CREDIBLE BASIS FOR THEIR ASSERTIONS. I'VE BEEN ASKED TO LEND A HAND IN QUASHING THIS FAST MOVING URBAN MYTH TO WHICH I CARELESSLY LENT AUTHORITY.

The blog on which I primarily relied has since printed this statement:

Alfarena Ballew from the Marion County Coroner’s office called to offer this statement, “Her friend and her aunt are working together with the life partner to take care of the remains. We have nothing in writing from the partner asking to claim the body. Our records show that the next of kin is her aunt. Our understanding now is that they’re all working together to release the body and take care of the services.” Ms. Ballew described the incident as a “misunderstanding” and says the office is on track to release the body shortly.

It is true that Christina Santiago died in the Indiana State Fair stage collapse, that she worked for the Lesbian Comunnity Care Project and (apparently) that her partner was also injured. It is also true that American corporations began making their workplaces safe for LGBT employees to be "out" at work without shame as early as 1991.

It is plausible that DOMA could be used by State and Federal authorities to deprive gay and lesbian Americans of their ability to recover the remains of their loved ones based upon DOMA's prohibition against the recognition of legally binding relationships between gay and lesbian partners. Fortunately, in this case, DOMA was not used to that end.

Below the dotted line is my original post. I most heartily apologize to Forbes, ForbesWoman, and readers of the She Negotiates Blog for its inaccuracies. I also apologize to Christina's family and loved ones as well as to the Marion County Coroner and its hard-working staff.

--------------------------------

The family values crowd should be ashamed of the use to which the Defense of Marriage Act was put in Indiana after the State Fair's stage collapsed, killing five, including Christina Santiago, manager of programming at the Lesbian Community Care Project at Chicago's Howard Brown Health Center.

If this public and private tragedy does not move the forces of darkness to give up their well-orchestrated national campaign to deprive men and women with sexual preferences different than their own of their basic human rights, we will have to assume that their hearts are made of stone, their ears plugged and their eyes blind to the suffering they quite deliberately cause to their fellow citizens.